Zugl. Kurzfassung und Übersetzung von: Basel, Universiẗat, Diss., 2007 u. d. T.: Parallel Trade of Pharmaceuticals. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2006--Augsburg.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Skatteagerande är ett ifrågasatt beteende inom byggbranschen och det finns flera tecken på att aktörerna i branschen har ett skatteundandragande beteende. Detta ses i brottförendebyggande rådets publikationer samt i skatteverkets undersökningar. Tidigare forskning visar att det existerar yrkesgrupper med skillnader i kultur där asymmetri uppstår. Detta benämns för subkultur. Det finns olika faktorer som påverkar individernas skatteagerande och skattemoral negativt. Dock påstås det även att många ändå väljer göra rätt för sig. Attityder visar individens inställning till något. Syfte med denna studie är att med undersökning av attityder finna stöd för att det finns en subkultur inom byggbranschen. Studien har en abduktiv ansats och undersöker attityder inom byggbranschen till beskattning, myndigheter, lagstiftning konkurrenters agerande samt till byggbranschens skattemoral. Undersökningen av attityder har skett genom att intervjua fyra ägare. Intervjuer kompletterades med enkäter som skickades ut till flera olika företag inom byggbranschen. Resultat visar att det finns indikationer på att det återfinns ett mönster hos respondenterna som tyder på att det finns en subkultur i byggbranschen. I detta mönstret kännetecknas aktörerna framförallt av hög medvetenhet om rådande skattefusk som därmed bidrar till att de har inget val och väljer då att bryta mot normer. Studien undersöker en liten mängd aktörer som enbart utgör en del av hela populationen i byggbranschen. Därmed bör resultatet förstärkas med mer omfattande forskning. / Tax evasion is a questionable behavior in the construction industry and there are several signs that the actors in the industry have a tax avoidance behavior. This is seen in the publications of building council's publications and in the Tax Agency's investigations. Previous research shows that there are occupational groups with differences in culture where asymmetry occurs. This is termed subculture. There are various factors that negatively affect individuals' tax behavior and tax morale. However, it is also claimed that many still choose to do the right thing. Attitudes show the individual's approach to something. The aim of this study is to find support for the existence of a subculture in the construction industry with the examination of attitudes. The study has an abductive approach and examines attitudes in the construction industry to taxation, authorities, legislation, competitors' actions and to the construction industry's tax morale. The survey of attitudes has been conducted by interviewing four business owners. Interviews were supplemented with surveys that were sent out to several different companies in the construction industry. Results show that there are indications that there is a pattern in the respondents that indicates that there is a subculture in the construction industry. In this pattern, the players are mainly characterized by high awareness of prevailing tax fraud, which thus contributes to their having no choice and then chooses to break norms. The study examines a small number of actors that form only part of the entire population in the construction industry. Thus, the results should be reinforced with more extensive research.

In this dissertation, I explore some facets of the strategic interaction between brand equity and distribution channels. Specifically, I examine how brand equity influences the firm’s channel governance and channel management strategies. In this regard, I address the following two general research questions: (a) does a firm’s brand equity influence the way it governs its distribution channel? How? (b) Does a firm’s brand equity influence the way it manages its distribution channel? How? Using a wide assortment of archival data sources (e.g., Bond's Franchise Guide, Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, Factiva, LexisNexis, University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices, Compustat, Statista, firms’ annual reports, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal databases, and companies’ official websites), two large multi-year data sets, a variety of econometric techniques (e.g., Event Study, Multiple Regression, Probit, Multi-level Mixed-Effects Linear Models, Multinomial Logistic Regression, Generalized Linear Models, Multinomial Probit, Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Panel Vector Autoregression), and drawing on several theories from marketing, economics, business law, and strategic management, I uncover some interesting strategic interactions taking place at the brand-channel interface. This dissertation comprises five chapters: three empirical studies (chapters 2, 3, and 4), an introduction, and a conclusion chapter. In the introduction chapter, I provide a snapshot of the current state of knowledge in the brand-channel interface research domain and illustrate how I situate this dissertation within that body of research. Besides, I provide a more nuanced view about the specific research questions each study addresses and a glimpse into the findings and implications of each study, as an entry to the dissertation. In chapter 2, using a large panel data set of North American, franchise-level annual observations for the period from 2001 to 2009, I assess the causal link between brand equity and channel governance structure, and discuss the managerial implications of this relationship in the areas of channel governance and capital allocation decision-making. In chapters 3 and 4, I stay within the same overarching theme of this dissertation and delve into a business phenomenon taking place at the brand-channel interface – gray markets. Despite the interdisciplinary research interest in gray markets, it remains one of the least empirically researched topics in business management due to the well-known data accessibility issues. To circumvent those data barriers that impede empirical research on gray markets, I adopt a novel approach for data collection and analysis. To that end, I study the gray market combating behavior of more than 3,000 public companies, company-by-company, for a period of twenty years. Then, using a collection of archival data sources I assemble a unique data set to use in my analyses. In chapter 3, I undertake the first empirical inquiry into the effect of gray market combating on firm performance and the contingencies that govern this effect. In chapter 4, I conduct a comprehensive review of the gray market combating mechanisms present in the literature, review available theoretic arguments about them, posit theoretical relationships, and conduct the first assessment of the financial efficacy of those different combating mechanisms. Then, I identify a number of firm-level factors that may drive the firm’s choice of gray market combating mechanism. The findings of these two studies address some long-standing, focal research questions in the gray market literature, provide managers with many valuable, actionable insights and recommendations, and put before policymakers some novel, revealing scientific evidence that may help them in dealing with the gray market controversy (e.g., whether the net impact of gray markets on firm performance and social welfare is benign or harmful, the necessity and/or merit of an active legislative role). The conclusion chapter closes this dissertation by reflecting on the new knowledge created by this research and highlighting its significance to theory, practice, and policymaking. / Thesis / Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) / The relationship between brand equity and distribution channel strategy is recognized in practice and is of particular interest to senior managers. However, research in marketing on the topic is scant and our understanding of this relationship remains limited. This dissertation endeavors to advance our knowledge in that area by investigating how a firm’s brand equity affects its channel management and channel governance behavior. Using a variety of research methods and statistical techniques, along with two large multi-year, multi-sector data samples, I document some interesting strategic interactions taking place at the brand-channel interface. Notably, I detect a causal influence for brand equity on the way a firm governs its distribution network. Additionally, I observe that brand equity is not only a major driver of certain strategic channel management initiatives (e.g., gray market combating), but also a key determinant of the financial efficacy of those initiatives. The findings of this research pose significant implications for theory, practice, and policymaking and address some questions that puzzled practitioners and scholars for more than three decades.